This is what absol does best. Night slash for a strong STAB, pursuit since half of RU is scared of him and then sucker punch to stop sweeps. That's all it needs, so you may as well throw in fire blast for the accelgor and durant. Crustle can come in on Absol, however, and proceed to barely dodge the 2HKO, so if you use absol watch out for that.

Ruiner of Alph

AFRO BULL!!! A slow, bulky attacker just waiting to switch in on a Grass-type attack, Bouffalant can be quite a threat after Sap Sipper kicks in. So, what are its best roles, teammates, counters, sets, etc.?

Anyways, Bouffalant is an awesome Pokemon thats capable of dishing out a ton of damage and taking hits in return with gusto. The set i posted above is probably the best set Bouffalant can run in RU, imo. Because of Bouffalants good 95/95/95 bulk and immunity to Ghost- and Grass-type moves, the latter of which gives Bouffalant a free Attack boost every time it switches in on a move of that type, its relatively easy to switch Bouff in compared to other Normal-types such as Cinccino. From there, Bouffalant can force a switch and use it as an opportunity to set up a bulky Substitute to cushion it from whatever switches in, then batter the opposing team in safety with its high base 110 Attack stat and high powered STAB move. If Bouffalant ever gets the chance to (way more often then you'd think actually), it can even set up a Swords Dance, boosting its attack up to an astronomical 700. Bouffalant performs especially well against stall/defensive balance teams, where it has more opportunities to set up both Substitute and Swords Dance. After a Swords Dance, Bouff has no trouble 2HKOing the majority of RU's defensive Pokemon at worst, while they KO it in return due to its high defenses (although things like bulky Rotom and Misdreavus completely wall it). The given Speed Evs allow Bouffalant to outrun minimum speed Lanturn and reliably set up a Substitute on it, although other important speed benchmarks include max Speed Aggron and min speed Qwilfish/Misdreavus respectively, the latter of which allows it to PP stall Misdreavus lacking perish song, even if it cant hit the ghost directly.

From my experience Rotom-C is an amazing offensive partner. Many grass types like to switch in on voltswitches (ground types always have to fear the STAB leaf storm). This opens the field for Bouffalant since many common bulky grass types like Amoonguss and Tangrowth cant do much to Bouffalant. This gives him a free turn to either substitute up or just simply attack. This is depending on the set ofc - I like to use Sub+3Attack.

This set gives him good coverage as well as being safe from burns and poisoning from slower walls. It doesnt have the instant power from a choice band set or the sweeping potential from a SD set, but it has the ability to put some reliable damage on nearly every team.

What makes bouffalant better than other normal type attackers is his ability "Sap Sipper". With the RU tier being filled with sleep inducing grass types and other annoying "grass type shenanigans" like Leech Seed, Bouffalant makes for an amazing check to these strategys hence he deserves a place in nearly all of my RU teams.

Bouffalant can't always be placed on any random team; its place is more fit for slower teams than fast, offensive teams. Fast, offensive teams would much rather have faster Normal-types like Tauros or Kangaskhan, which have higher Speed. For this reason, he also needs more support to take down Ghost-types, notably Misdreavus.

I find Bouffalant's niche mainly from Sap Sipper, otherwise it wouldn't have much above other Normal-types. The best Pokemon that benefit the most from Bouffalant are those that have trouble with Grass-type Pokemon. On more defensive-inclined teams, Carracosta is a great partner. First, it has trouble with Grass-types if it doesn't have Ice Beam, and can set up Stealth Rock to have more chip damage. Also, together they can have some offensive pressure, as Carracosta can always stomp & pound after a SS boost, conversely Bouffalant can Substitute +Swords Dance up.

Nidoqueen's rise from RU helped Bouffalant greatly. Her absence lets slower Pokemon that were previously taken out can now shine. In turn, Bouffalant can outspeed some of these Pokemon like Aggron, Ferroseed, and Druddigon.

Ruiner of Alph

Anyway, the king here needs no introduction. It works on basically every kind of team. So, what are its best sets, roles, counters, teammates, etc.? Anything and everything about Slowking is up for discussion ^.^

RU Co-Leader

Slowking is easily one of the, if not the best Pokemon in RU at the moment, and probably the best Pokemon overall that never moved up that hasn't been banned to BL2 imo. Anyways, as Jellicent mentioned Slowking fits well on pretty much every kind of team, and its an exceptionally powerful and versatile threat, further supporting its position as one of the best Pokemon in RU. Slowking is used on a wide variety of defensive cores effectively, and works especially well on Regenerator cores, paired with other regenerator Pokemon such as Tangrowth and Amoonguss, who share excellent synergy with Slowking and are perfectly capable of beating many of the things that threaten Slowking.

As for checks to Slowking, its aforementioned power and versatility makes 100% countering Slowking a difficult task, but there are plenty of Pokemon that can effectively check it. Ironically, one of the best checks for Slowking is a Slowking of your own, it can switch into both of Slowking's STABs+Fire Blast, has enough special bulk to take the occasional Specs Grass Knot and switch out, and it can wear the other Slowking down over time with Toxic. Given if neither Slowking is running Toxic it sort of becomes a stalemate :/. Druddigon makes a decent check for Slowking as well, resisting Scald/Surf and Fire Blast while having enough bulk to take Psyshock, Druddigon has to watch out for the occasional Scald Burn, though. Pursuit trappers such as Spiritomb and Absol make good Slowking checks as well, possibly even crippling or outright KOing it if it tries to switch, preventing it from causing any more trouble. But like Druddigon, the Pursuit trappers are vulnerable to Scald burns, so watch out! Lastly, Rotom-C makes a good Slowking check, switching in on Scald with ease and having enough bulk to take most Psychic-type attacks, while posing an immediate threat in return with either Thunderbolt, Leaf Storm, or Volt Switch. Rotom-C can even use Volt Switch as the opposing Slowking switches out to give the user a switch advantage.

Slowking is really good, and as aforementioned, one of the best mons in RU atm. It's really easy to slap it on a team, it's pretty versatile. It can run bulky offensive, defensive, offensive trick room, among other sets. Another thing I love is its bulk, even if you're running an offensive set it has plenty of bulk to take a few hits, and has even more longevity with Regenerator. Personally, I love using OTR even though its gimmicky and has flaws. It can net a kill or two, take a lot of hits, and set up Trick Room all in one mon. Offensive options include Surf, Psyshock, the manly Fire Blast, Grass Knot, Ice Beam, Nasty Plot, and Calm Mind even for boosting. It has plenty of support options to like Toxic, Thunder Wave, Trick Room, Slack Off (more defensive but whatever.) Best part of it is, Slowking has the ability to mix them, such as using Slack Off on an offensive set to regain HP. All in all, Slowking is one of the most diverse Pokemon in the tier that can work on almost any team effectively.

Haha my first post in RU! Love this tier people.
Slowking is truly an amazing pokemon. It can run a great defensive set, or hit hard with the standard LO + Trick Room set.
Personally, I think the Specially Defensive spread combined with Tangrowth is really amazing. The former can tank quite a few hits, and heal off the damage with Slack Off, while the latter is pretty much like a Physical Blissey, and Regenerator is all it needs. Speaking of that godly ability, both of these top-tier pokemon have that ability, ensuring they can stick around even longer.
I dont exactly think anything is a solid answer to Slowking, as the occasional burn will cripple any physical attacker. From my experience, Trick users are the most successful answers to Slowking, locking it into one move and effectively removing it from the game.

Ruiner of Alph

RU's dancing flower girl, Lilligant is most notable for Quiver Dance and that great Special Attack + Speed. So, what are your favorite Lilligant sets, and what are its best roles, counters, and niches? Anything about Lilligant is on the table this week~

This Lilligant set is easily one of the most threatening Pokemon in my opinion, and its usually one of the first Pokemon i try to prepare for when building a team of any kind, if my finished team doesn't have a reliable way to deal with Lilligant, whether its via a good Sleep Absorber, Pokemon with Sap Sipper, a bulky Grass- or Dragon-type such as Amoonguss, Roselia, or Druddigon, or even simply a way to revenge kill her with powerful Priority such as ExtremeSpeed or Ice Shard. You really do need a way to reliably take her out in my opinion, otherwise, you're bound to have a pretty hard time. Luckily, there are many Pokemon that can ensure you can stop Lilligant before it can do too much damage, some of which will be covered below.

Choice Scarf Emboar makes an exceptionally good check to Lilligant imo, its relatively bulky, and isn't weak to either of her two common Hidden Powers (it resists Fire and only takes neutral damage from Rock). Furthermore, Emboar can still pose a threat even if Lilligant happens to put it to Sleep because of Sleep Talk, preventing her from simply hitting Emboar with Sleep Powder on the switch, then tearing through the rest of the Emboar user's team without anything to stand in her way.

Aside from Emboar, other offensive Sleep Talk users such as Entei and Escavalier make good checks to Lilligant as well, although the two mentioned are slightly shakier than Emboar due to their weakness to one of the Hidden Powers Lilligant can run, with Entei being weak to Rock and Escavalier being weak to Fire. Nonetheless, these two Pokemon are still good at keeping Lilligant in check, and can mean the difference between victory and defeat if you play well.

Druddigon resists Giga Drain, resists Hidden Power Fire, and only takes neutral damage from Hidden Power Rock, making it a good way to stop Lilligant if Sleep Powder is used up (or if you can find a moveslot for Sleep Talk, but thats somewhat hard), be careful who you sleep fodder, though.

Sap Sippers such as Bouffalant, Sawsbuck, and Miltank are some of the best Lilligant counters out there, not just do they possess an immunity to Lilligant's STAB as well as Sleep Powder, but they get an immediate benefit from them, and with the exception of Sawsbuck, who's weak to Hidden Power Fire, they dont really care about Lilligant's Hidden Power for the most part either. From there these Pokemon can simply OHKO Lilligant with their STAB moves with no resistance at all, or in some cases even go for a countersweep with their newly boosted Attack stat.

Roselia and Amoonguss are probably the best defensive counters to Lilligant in RU, they 4x resist Lilligant's Grass STAB, have the special bulk to take even boosted Hidden Power Fires, and can threaten Lilligant with a STAB Sludge Bomb in return (or in Amoonguss's case, use Clear Smog to erase Lilligant's boosts with Clear Smog). Roselia even has Natural Cure to make Sleep less of a problem! definitely options to consider if your defensive balance/stall team is struggling against Lilligant.

Vital Spirit Magmortar is the last Lilligant check i'm going to be covering for now, its completely immune to Sleep thanks to Vital Spirit and can OHKO Lilligant in return with a powerful Fire Blast, +1 Life Orb Hidden Power Rock can OHKO Magmortar after Stealth Rock, though, so Magmortar is sort of shaky as checks go.

Actually, this set is one I try and use to catch opponents off guard:
Lilligant@Life Orb
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 Spd
- Quiver Dance
- Sleep Powder
- Petal Dance
- Hidden Power Rock/Fire
Unlike other moves suggested, Petal Dance hits hard vs neutral pokemon:
+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Uxie: 298-351 (84.18 - 99.15%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
That just shows the power of Petal Dance. Petal Dance of course comes with cons of being locked, meaning mons like Ferroseed switch in pretty early, but if you can get Ferroseed out of the way before Lilligant switches in, it can face an unstoppable switch. When not locked, HP Rock also offers good coverage, hitting Moltres and co hard amongst others.
Petal Dance helps hit an Emboar looking to switch in and set up: +1 252+ SpA Life Orb Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 236 HP / 0 SpD Emboar: 265-312 (63.09 - 74.28%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This means after a Quiver Dance, Emboar can't switch in because it is outsped by Lilligant and, after taking damage on the switch is pretty much gone.
+1 252+ SpA Life Orb Lilligant Petal Dance vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Druddigon: 203-240 (68.81 - 81.35%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This means offensive variants of counters to Lilligant hate this set as they are outsped and OHKOed. The 252 HP investment means it can take a hit or two if necessary.

Moderator

Molk already covered mostly everything on Lilligant. That being said, I would like to give a special mention to SubSD Bouffalant. Imo, it's about the best Lilligant counter out there. It has the bulk to take boosted Hidden Powers, doesn't care about Giga Drain or Sleep Powder at all (actually benefits from them), and isn't going to complain about being outsped (it's outsped by pretty much anything with a half decent Speed stat to start with) It can then Sub on the likely switch and pretty much get a free +1 hit on whatever comes in. (it can even run a 3rd attack over SD to maximize coverage if the user wishes)

The duo works really well similar to the Double-Dragon combo in prior OU generations. This particular set is great because with Substitute Sceptile has a one-turn buffer, and can choose an attack accordingly. For more gungho teams, Leaf Storm can work, but the caveat with it is that Sceptile is limited to how long it can stay in, and Giga Drain helps to recover the health that Sceptile will lose from Substitutes. The trickiest part is the type of Hidden Power. I choose Lilligant to have HP [Rock] and therefore, I had Sceptile use HP [Fire] to pick up the pieces.

Ironically, Druddigon is a great partner for Lilligant as well. For example, from Molk's post, CS Emboar, Escavalier, or Entei, Druddigon can switch into these Pokemon without much repercussions; Druddigon pairs really well with Sceptile as well. Rough Skin is a great boon and with SR can quickly wear down the Pokemon that prevents Lilligant from sweeping.

Ruiner of Alph

With high Special Attack and Speed, good movepool, and Lightningrod, Manectric is quite solid in this metagame. So, what are your favorite sets, counters, and uses for this thing? Anything about Manectric is up for discussion this week~

Moderator

Manectric isn't the best Electric-type out there, but it's very solid. It has all the coverage it needs in just 3 moves which lets it run a more unique move in its last slot. Choice sets are really popular with Manectric and it's easy to see why. It has good Speed and Special Attack, STAB Volt Switch, and the coveted Switcheroo which is basically Trick with a fancy name. However, there's one set that I personally really like with Manectric:

Expert Belt Manectric is really the first set I ever tried with it in RU. Great coverage, high Speed, solid Special Attack, and STAB Volt Switch make it work well. Thunderbolt is the obvious reliable STAB option. Great cleaning tool for Manectric. Flamethrower is great as it deters Grass-types from trying to come in. HP Grass levels Ground-types looking to block Volt Switch. The only common Ground-type that is neutral to HP Grass is Steelix, but it gets roasted by Flamethrower. Lastly, there's Volt Switch. This lets Manectric be more cautious early on and let's it bluff a Choice item with relative ease, only to use its ability to switch moves to knock out or heavily dent a check or counter later. As a final note, Life Orb can be used if a more consistent power boost is desired.

As far as counters go, Lanturn is a really solid option. Switcheroo is all it really fears, but it can even make some use of that with Volt Switch. Otherwise, Manectric isn't touching it as HP Grass isn't nearly strong enough considering Lanturn's special bulk. Clefable isn't overly common, but it's a very respectable defensive threat that can handle Manectric effectively. It's even got Magic Guard and Wish to stay in good health to deal with Manectric again and again. If you want a counter that can put the Manectric user under a lot of offensive pressure, look no further than Druddigon. It resists everything Manectric commonly carries and it generally won't be crying about getting a choice item (though neither Scarf nor Specs help it much) Gallade and Bouffalant are solid checks to Manectric as both have the special bulk to handle a STAB move and hit back hard. Priority users of almost any kind will seriously dent or outright KO Manectric due to its frailty. Any of Entei, Feraligatr, Kabutops, Spiritomb, and Absol can all come in after Manectric scores a KO (or locks itself into an unfavorable move) and use their respective priority moves to knock it out.

Teammates for Manectric. Kabutops is one of the best supporters for Manectric. As Manectric loves to use Volt Switch early on, Rapid Spin support keeps entry hazards from taking their toll. Kabutops keeps up offensive pressure, spins away hazards, and even draws in Electric-type attacks for Manectric. The pixies, Mesprit and Uxie, can provide SR support and a Ground immunity which helps greatly. Both can also use U-Turn to get Manectric in safely. Manectric is a solid choice for any VoltTurn team. Rotom(-C) Galvantula, Braviary, and Swellow are all worthy options to look at. Fighting-types such as Gallade can pummel Clefable and most do a real number on Lanturn as well. Finally, Omastar and Samurott are 2 Water-types that commonly carry Ice Beam to deal with Druddigon, one of the best offensive responses to Manectric. Both also have the added benefit of drawing in Electric attacks for Manectric as well. Samurott even offers a backup response to common Regenerator cores with its Mixed Attacker set should Manectric be running a Choice item.

I agree with EonX. If you can bluff a choice scarf then a quagsire will probably come in and get destroyed by hp grass. I really don't like to use Manectric that much as there aren't many ways to make an original set rather than just gluing your eyes to the strategy pokedex.

Eox- said a lot about Manectric. I agree that it's a more self-sufficient Pokemon with Expert Belt than with a Choice item. The obvious advantage is that it doesn't need support like spin or another partner to take out a switch-in like Steelix or Quagsire, so then that extra slot can be taken advantage by laying down Toxic Spikes, for example.

Also, I like the fact that Cryogonal and Sandslash also work as partners to spin, rather than most Pokemon that are compatible with Kabutops. Cryogonal works well because of the Ground-type attacks aimed at Manectric from Steelix, Druddigon, or even Aerodactyl. Similarily, Sandslash is also a good partner to switch into physical attackers like Druddigon or Aerodactyl.

Expert Belt--or Life Orb--is a good weapon against defensive teams thanks to its coverage attacks and ability to corebreak. Some core like TanKing and GoSeed gets wiped out, but Alo+Druddigon cores can still handle it. On the other side, Choice Scarf is good to have against offensive teams; so the item makes a big difference. I like that its a good offensive answer to Sigilyph, which always manages to piss me off. The fact that it outspeeds and hit it hard with STAB Thunderbolt.

I'd like to show more recognition to the Choice Spec set. The specs set differs from the Ebelt set by becoming a wallbreaker rather than a corebreaker. It's also the middle ground between the Choice Scarf and the Expert Belt sets, as it can handle both offensive and defensive teams, although not to the degree as the two sets do by themselves. Having Spikes support is great--but really what offensive Pokemon doesn't like it? Ferroseed is a good partner to set it up although for more on a balanced team; it can switch into Druddigon, which still walls this set that lack a Flamethrower. For more offensive teams, the tried-and-true Smeargle set doesn't disappoint. I like Qwilfish as with Intimidate, it can give Manectric a buffer to switch into weakened attacks, although Manectric will still be hard-pressed to switch in. Further, Qwilfish helps with Thunder Wave and punishes defensive Pokemon with Taunt. Finally, it can even feign a Choice Scarf set with Volt Switch as a lot of people probably don't pay attention to the difference in the damage.

I dont think that Ebelt is the best Manectric, Life Orb definitely not.

Good players expect ebelt so is very hard to nails Quagsire, Steelix and this stuff. The best Manectric set is just simply the Choice Scarf set only be careful with some priority mons / some spdef walls / ground types.

Life Orb or Ebelt set is totally outclassed by Galvantula who hits harder because Thunder > Tbolt and Giga Drain > Hidden Power Grass, is a bit faster and dual stab, for example isnt walled by Druddigon. The only real advantage for Manectric are no weak to Stealth Rock and sometimes Overheat.

manetric forces a lot of switches though, so sub dog is very good with toxic spikes or spikes. It has great coverage between Elec / fire / ice (or grass but drud is more common than lanturn) along with great speed. It is relatively weak compared to most electrics though but thats hardly an issue with something like scolipede setting up Hazards. Ive used the same team for more than a year now and sub dog hasn't lost its effectiveness. im not a well known ru / lu player but i do have credibility

RU Co-Leader

Although Golurk is currently in the NU tier, i am of the opinion that Golurk is an incredibly solid option in RU as well, and should always be considered when trying to build RU teams as a Stealth Rock setter, tank, and wallbreaker. Currently, the set below is my favorite Golurk set in RU, and the set that i use the most by far.

Stealth Rock tank Golurk is a really helpful pokemon to have on pretty much every bulky offense team that needs it, and Golurk has a ton of advantages over its competition: most notably its typing. Golurk's nice Ground/Ghost typing gives it immunities to Normal, Fighting, and Electric-type moves as well as some useful resistances to Rock, bug, and Poison-type moves all in one teamslot (although it gives it some nasty weaknesses too, watch out for those). This combined with Golurk's good natural bulk and offensive presence means that Golurk can check many common Pokemon such as Aggron, Manectric, Hitmonlee, Escavalier, Galvantula, and Accelgor. Of course some of these do have coverage moves to hit Golurk, but it still has enough bulk to take an unstabbed Giga Drain or Hp Grass here and there. As for the set itself. The given evs maximize Golurk's offensive presence and give it some bulk to work with. The Speed evs let me outpace Minimum Speed Lanturn so i can come in on Volt Switch or Thunder Wave and OHKO Earthquake...plus some added Speed creep to make sure i win speed ties against other Pokemon that try to hit that Benchmark. Earthquake is pretty much needed on all Golurk, as its its strongest and most reliable STAB move. Shadow Punch is the best Physical STAB move Golurk has, and although it only has 60 BP, Iron First means its still more than powerful enough to dent things like weakened Slowking, Uxie, and Mesprit when needed. Lastly, Fire Punch lets me OHKO Escavalier when needed and gives me a way to defend against Grass-types trying to switch switch in on Golurk such as Sceptile, Lilligant, and Rotom-C. Alternatively, Drain Punch can be used for some extra recovery and a slightly stronger hit against clefable and other normal-types.

I know some people really like No Guard DynamicPunch on Golurk but i've always really disliked the concept to the honest. Confusion is nice and all, but remember that Unlike Machamp, Golurk isn't getting STAB on DynamicPunch, and can't afford to use it as much from my Experience. Also note that without Iron Fist the rest of Golurk's punching moves such as Shadow Punch the Elemental Punches etc are considerably weaker without Iron Fist. So overall imo, Iron Fist is the best ability option on Golurk despite the appeal of dynamicpunch.